It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell SpareBank 1 Østlandet (OB:SPOL), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
Do Insider Transactions Matter?
It’s quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that ‘insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year’.
View our latest analysis for SpareBank 1 Østlandet
SpareBank 1 Østlandet Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chief Executive Officer Richard Heiberg for kr892k worth of shares, at about kr89.20 per share. So it’s clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being kr87.70). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company’s future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
While SpareBank 1 Østlandet insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn’t sell. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Does SpareBank 1 Østlandet Boast High Insider Ownership?
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Based on our data, SpareBank 1 Østlandet insiders have about 0.2% of the stock, worth approximately kr19m. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.
So What Does This Data Suggest About SpareBank 1 Østlandet Insiders?
The fact that there have been no SpareBank 1 Østlandet insider transactions recently certainly doesn’t bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in SpareBank 1 Østlandet and their transactions don’t cause us concern. While we like knowing what’s going on with the insider’s ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for SpareBank 1 Østlandet (1 is concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.
But note: SpareBank 1 Østlandet may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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